More from The 2006 State of the Profession Opinion Survey

CEO Perceptions of PR
How much do you agree or disagree that the top
management/CEO at your organization believes that
PR contributes to moving the organization forward in
terms of each of the following?
Respondents were asked to what extent they agree that the
top management or CEO of their organization believes that
PR contributes to moving the organization forward in terms of
three aspects: reputation ofthe organization, market share and
financial success/sales. Of these three, agreement was strongest
concerning reputation ofthe organization which received an
average agreement score of 4.51 on a five-point scale. Although
positive, average agreement levels were lower concerning
respondents' perceptions that management sees PR as moving
the organization forward in terms of financial sucoess/saies (3.94)
and market share (390), overall- Respondents from smaller
organizations (50 or fewer employees) agreed significantly more
strongly, compared to respondents at other size organizations, that
their top management saw PR as moving the organization forward
on all three of these aspects.

Market Share

Issues, Trends, Challenges and Voice

.-.ff^i'iir iy.-*:;;,,H TEJT'

How important do you think each of the following

issues are to the PR industry and your practice of
the function?
Ethical Issues.
privBcy. orgarttzauonal
Irtegrtty.etc

.ao

Ethicai issues: individual privacy, organizational integrity, etc.

were rated the highest in importance (4,60) to the PR industry
Government reguMion:
and respondents' practice ofthe function. This was followed
HIPPA SarOOx Reg FD
VNR regulations elc
by Government reguiation: HIPPA, Sarbanes-Oxley Reg FD,
VNR regulations, etc. at 4.12. First amendment issues: FCC,
Fmi amendmeni fsaueft,
FCC.
media ownership, etc. were also rated as important (4.01). The
remaining issue examined (procurement issues) was rated
essentially as not important, falling just below 3.50 at 3.48. "Other"
Olw
issues as indicated by approximately 9% of respondents
included the changing/consolidating media environment such as
the impact of technology and biogs. the use and vaiue of data and
Procurnenl I I I U M
measurement in PR, and educating management, staff and pubiic
on the value of PR.

4,01

3^

1-Nolatiuiiivaftan

Has your organization experienced an increase or

decrease in PR spending this year (2006)?
The majority of respondents interviewed (52%) reported that their
PR budget had not experienced any changes in 2006- Over onethird (37%) did report an increase, while only 11 percent reported
a decrease. Interestingly enough, respondents at smaller sized
organizations significantly more often reported an increase in their
PR spending in 2006 (50 or fewer employees -41%) compared to
respondents at larger sized organizations (over 1,000 employees 32%). Decreases in 2006 PR spending were fairly evenly distributed
across the various sized organizations, with 9 to 12% reporting
decreases. Respondents from larger sized organizations reported
no change in 2006 PR spending significantly more often (1,000 or
more employees - 57%) compared to those at smaller organizations
(50 or fewer employees - 50%). The average decrease in 2006
PR spending was 20%; the average increase 29%, This average
increase was significantly higher in small organizations
(50 or fewer employees - 35%) compared to larger organizations
(1,000 or more employees - 23%).

Stayed Ihe same

52%

AversQe percentage
Increase reported: 29%
Average percentage
Decrease reported 20%

Percentage of respondents (N>1459)

TACTICS March 2007 25